Bonds of a Dragon
by Kumori-Eclipse
Summary: Things in Berk continue as normal, until Stoick is called away on buisiness. Something dosn't sit well with Hiccup, and being a viking, trusting your instincts is key. What he discovers however, is more then he bargined for, and will test rider and dragon to their limits. (May update the name, once I can think of a better one. This one was the first to pop into my head.)
1. A Morning Flight

**Hiccup: In Berk, honesty is everything. It takes a real viking to own up to his mistakes, and admit that he was wrong. Though, for every viking, this is not the easiest thing in the world due to pride, no one wants to be caught in a mistake or being wrong, so there is a sense of blaming it on the poor guy who happens to be standing next to you at the time...But secrets always have a way of coming out...one way...or another.**

The familiar growls, and on the roof was all to familiar. Toothless was up early once again, wanting to go for their morning fly. Sitting up in bed, Hiccup smiled and stretched, taking a deep breath, which brought on a yawn. The sun had barely begun to rise over the horizon, but that was the way Toothless liked it. The crisp morning air, the still and silence left over by night, the sunrise on the water. He sometimes thought about asking Astrid to come with them, but he doubted waking her up so early in the morning without warning was such a good idea. He moved to the window, taking a deep breath. A smile formed on his lips, and he looked up to see Toothless peeking down over the edge of the roof at him. When he saw him looking back, he tilted his head, and gave another hop on the roof, causing flecks of dust and dirt to lightly rain down. Hiccup laughed and lightly coughed, waving his hand to clear it away.

"Alright, I get it" he laughs.

Moving back to the bed, he kneels and slides a hand around under his bed. He knew he had placed it there last night...Ah! He pulls out the familiar saddle for Toothless, sitting it up on the bed. The two had gotten back late last night, after having gone to explore the outer reaches of Berk. There was sea beyond their land, and day by day, Hiccup and Toothless were getting more curious, and itching to find out what lay beyond. He heard a slightly frustrated growl, and glanced out the window. Toothless was getting restless to get going already. Luckily, he had used the roof as a wake up call this time, rather than bouncing up and down on Hiccup's chest. He still had a few bruises from the last time. His hand lightly pressed over his chest, and he smiled. He wouldn't give this up for anything...

Toothless was bouncing off the side of the hut and the trees as Hiccup finally came out. He crouched down, wiggling his wings and lower half slightly as he prepared to pounce. Lunging forward, Hiccup placed the saddle between them just in time to protect himself from being hit head on, as the large dragon knocked him over. He seemed to purr slightly, as he nuzzled his muzzle into the side of Hiccup's neck and his shoulder. Hiccup laughed, and barely managed to push the powerful beast's head away from him.

"Ok buddy, ready to take to the skies?" he asks, sitting up slightly.

Toothless roared, hopping back, and turning in a full circle once, before placing his back to Hiccup. He looked back at him, seeming to smile, and he shifted from foot to foot impatiently. It was amusing to see the dragon so eager to get going, and Hiccup was happy to ablige. He placed the saddle on the dragon, kneeling for a moment to fasten the strap and to make sure the foot control was working in top condition. They would be in danger if it went out mid-flight, as they had seen through man trial and error of getting it to work in the first place. Inspecting his tail-piece a bit, Toothless once more gave a frustrated growl. He was more than ready to spread his wings. Since all seemed to be in order, Hiccup climbed up on his back, and clicked his prosthetic foot into place on the control. He leaned down to lightly pat the side of Toothless' neck.

"All set bud"

The dragon did not need to be told twice, opening its' massive wings, and shooting off into the sky with a force that made Hiccup's ears start to ring. The rush of air blowing at his hair and stinging his eyes enough to make them water a bit, and he closed them. There was a sort of churning in his stomach, from adrenaline and excitement, he always got when they did this. The thrill and rush of actually being on the back of a dragon, and miles above the ground or sea was one that definitely stuck with you. They leveled out, and Toothless gave a happy roar. This calmer flying allowed Hiccup to open his eyes once more, and look down at where they were. Berk was below, moving by quickly. Seemed Toothless was heading out to see, though they usually stuck close to land in the early mornings, every once in a while, they went out to see the water. This morning, it was beautiful. The sun's light reflected from it, bathing it in a warm glow, as well as the sky and clouds above.

This...was one of the best things about flying. From the ground, you could only see so much, but from the air, there were so many new scenes to behold and everything was so new. Toothless gave a little noise, and Hiccup looked down at him to see the dragon watching him a bit. He smiled, and rubbed the side of his neck again.

"I'm ok, just enjoying the view...never gets old" he says warmly.

The dragon seemed to understand, and flew down to the water. He tilted his massive body slightly to the side, dipping his wing's tip into the water. Hiccup leaned down, doing the same with his fingertips. The water lightly sprayed up against them, and his smile grew.

"Alright, show me what you got" Hiccup challenged.

Toothless roared, and straightened his body, darting up into the air once more. He headed towards a series of rocks on the side of Berk, and Hiccup held on tight. The weaved their way through, the movements precise and sharp, through lots of practice. Hiccup did not even need to really speak, as Toothless knew what to do, all he had to do, was make sure he kept up with the tail. They finally broke away from the rocks, and Hiccup laughed, sitting back and opening his arms to the rush of wind and the land that laid out before them. He gave a slight victory whoop, and Toothless answered with a loud roar. They had done a lot of training to get better, and it was paying off. He leaned back in, and took ahold of the front of the saddle once more.

"Let's see the other's top that...not even Alvin can stop us now" Hiccup mused, though it was more on the rush of the flight.

He knew the Outcasts were a threat, and nothing to trifle with. He had to be careful and on his guard, Alvin was still after him, and the dragons. Toothless did not seem to mind his little quip, and opened his mouth. A blast of his fire shot off into the clouds, and gave its' usual explosion. Hiccup looked down at Berk, wondering if they were waking anyone with their noise. It was probably a good idea to call it a morning, but Toothless still looked like he had energy to burn.

"We could check on the island for dad, make a quick round before heading home" he offered.

This seemed to be alright, for Tootless allowed himself to dive slightly closer to the island, and began to fly over it. His large eyes shifting from side to side, looking around at the view. Hiccup looked around to. The sheep were being let out to pasture, to graze. The yaks were up and moving as well to. There were no signs of anything out-of-place at the moment, and Berk was beginning to wake up as usual. A few people waved at Hiccup and Tootless as they passed, but as they flew over the forest, and the one house that stood all alone the friendliness ended. Mildew glared up at the Nightfury and his rider with disgust.

"Get that beast outa here!" he yelled, waving his stick "nothing but trouble I say!"

"Morning to you to" Hiccup said quietly, but directed Toothless back towards the village.

Toothless grumbled a bit at the older viking's words, and glared a bit now. Hiccup knew the dragon did not like the man, none of them did, and for good reason to.

"It's ok buddy, he's just not a morning person" Hiccup says with a smile, "then again, he's not an any time of day person."

Toothless gave a slight throaty dragon laugh, and they dived back down towards the village. They landed in the middle, and a few people glanced at them. Toothless did not pause to let Hiccup off, walking along back towards their home. Everything seemed to be going well this morning, that was good. He was glad that Berk was at peace for now, though as they approached home, it did not look like it was going to stay that way. Stoick was already up, and heading towards Thornado. He looked to serious to be on a casual flight.

"Oh boy...time to find out what's up"

Stoick was placing some bags on Thornado's saddle, before hopping up. He saw his son approaching, and his look softened a bit.

"Dad, what's going on?" Hiccup asked, sliding down from Toothless' back.

The chief of the village looked down at his son for a moment, as if choosing his words. With a sigh, he figured his son would find out one way or another.

"Alvin has been causing trouble north of Berk, seems he's calling for a meeting" he says.

That did not sit right with Hiccup.

"He can't be trusted" the young viking says to his father.

Stoick nods, "I have a ship following me, and with Thornado, we should be alright."

Hiccup turned towards the house, "give me like five minutes and I'll be read to-"

"Your staying here" his father says sternly.

Tootless looked between the two, as Hiccup turned to look at his father.

"What, but I have taken on Alvin plenty of times, and two dragons plus me would be better than going in alone" Hiccup protested.

Stoick took ahold of the reigns, "I won't be alone, besides, your place is here...for the academy, your friends...and for me."

Hiccup sighed. He knew his father ment that he wanted him to be safe, he would not risk Alvin getting his hands on what he wanted. Hiccup gave a slight nod to his father.

"Be safe...come home soon" he says.

Stoick nods, and pulls on the reigns, causing his dragon to take off into the air. Hiccup stood watching the form of his father fly away on the dragon. Toothless seemed to feel his nerves, and moved forward. He pushed his nose up to Hiccup's hand, and the young viking looked down at him with a warm smile.

"Don't worry buddy...everything will be alright...I hope" he sighed, there was nothing left to do now...but wait...


	2. A Possible Motive

There was no point in staring at the sky forever, and Hiccup had his own duties to attend to. The others would be awake by now, and most likely awaiting him at the ring. He sighed, and turned away, looking at Toothless. The dragon tilted his head slightly, looking up at Hiccup with bright eyes. Hiccup was thankful for the dragon, for they had been through a lot together, and shared a bond and friendship few would understand. Without Toothless, Hiccup felt he would be missing a big part of himself, he could not imagine losing the other. Could he imagine losing his father? He shook his head, closing his eyes, and placing a hand over them.

"Stop that" he told himself, "everything will be alright."

Toothless tilted his head even more, questioning with his gaze, as to why his rider was talking to himself. Peeking through his fingers, Hiccup caught sight of this and laughed. He then made his wa to the other's side, and climbed back on.

"Lets go bud, the others are waiting" he adjusted the tail.

As soon as it hit the right position, Toothless was off in the air once more, and heading towards where they would discover their friends. Sure enough, they were all there. Astrid was petting Stormfly, who looked to be very pleased at being made over. Fishlegs was getting Meatlug to do small tricks, by feeding her various stones and such. He then broke into an all to familiar hugging session with the dragon, causing Hiccup to chuckle a little. His smile vanished a bit when he noticed Snotlout using one of his medals to create a light on the ground. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were staring at it, from their position by their dragon. All four heads moved in unison, tilting one way, then the other as it moved slowly from side to side. When it finally stopped, Tuffnut looked over at his sister, and they both gave a slight smile and laugh, before diving forward at the light. It only darted away, and left the two to ram helmets together. Snotlout busted into laugher, slipping from where he leaned against Hookfang, and falling over.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, they were an odd bunch indeed. All of them had their quirks, but they seemed to made a good team, as long as they could stand eachother long enough. Toothless spiraled down a bit, and landed, letting Hiccup hop off. Tuffnut looked up, pushing his helmet back into place.

"Hey, look who finally decided to show" he said.

"Ha ha, I have a perfectly good explination as to why I am late, unlike others most of the time" he tossed a glance in Snotlout's direction as he spoke.

The other viking caught it, as he stood up, and marched over to Hiccup, buffing out his chest in his usual mannor. Snotlout was always trying to seem bigger, better and badder then Hiccup, trying to outdo him and seem better at everything.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he challenged.

"Oh nothing" Hiccup mused, turning to pet Toothless as he came over, "just if you spent half as much time on training as you do at looking at yourself in any reflective surface, you might actually become a good rider."

Snotlout gave him a dark look, stepping forward to say something, his fists clenched. Astrid moved in the way, keeping them apart. She did not feel like listening to Snotlout trying to manage a snappy comeback, or decide his fists would be good enough. She looked over at Hiccup, as the twins walked over with Fishlegs.

"So, what is this reason you kept us waiting for?" she asked.

"probably couldn't get his door open..weakling" Snotlout chided with a huff, turning away and crossing his arms.

Hiccup rolled his eyes again, "my father left earlier on Thornado...seems Alvin is up to something in the North, and has demanded a meeting with him."

Astrid raised an eyebrow, "why would Alvin want a meeting with your father...their like mortal enemies."

"Maybe he got his helmet stuck" Tuffnut shrugged, "I do it all the time when Ruffnut slams me into the wall...watch."

He lowered his head, and his sister grabbed ahold of the back of his shirt, quickly moving forward to the wall, and smashing him headfirst into it. The horns of his helmet getting stuck. Ruffnut moved away, dusting her hands off with a smile, which mirrored on her twin. Astrid sighed a bit, shaking her head slightly at the two of them.

"Oh boy" Hiccup sighed, shaking his head.

Fishlegs turned to him, and lightly tapped the tips of his fingers together. He swallowed, and looked like he was a bit nervous.

"D-did you say...North? As in, the northern seas?"

Hiccup turned his attention on him, "I guess so, all he would tell me was North...why?"

Fishlegs swallowed, "well, it may just be a rumor but..."

Astrid clapped him on the back, "spit it out already."

"It's a hotbed for Scauldrons and Sharkworms" he blurts out, then covers his mouth.

Hiccup's look turned serious, "you mean to tell me, my dad may be heading into waters that are crawling with deadly and dangerous dragons?"

"Oh he's dead" Snotlout smirked, leaning back against Hookfang again.

"Well, Scauldrons usually avoid conflict, but Sharkworms are another story...when faced with an enemy invading their habitat, who knows how they might react" Fishlegs said.

That was not helping at all, and only succeeded in intensifying Hiccups nerves about his father being out there with only a ship of men and Thornado. He knew his father was tough, and so was his dragon, but against Alvin and the added bonus of sea-monster dragons...

"Maybe Alvin didn't know they were there" Ruffnut shrugs.

"Or maybe he does, and so does my father" Hiccup moved back to Toothless' side.

"Where are you going?" Astrid asked.

"Where do you think, I can't let him go in to this alone" he hopped up on Tothless' saddle.

"Oh no you don't" says a voice.

They all look up to see Gobber making his wa into the stadium.

"Your father asked me to keep an eye on you" he says, "he had a feeling you'd find this information out one way or another, and go gallivanting off to 'save' him."

Hiccup sighed, sliding back off, "what am I supposed to do, sit around and wait till either my father comes home, or the empty battered ship just happens to wash up on shore?"

Gobber chuckled a bit, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"You're a brave lad Hiccup, and wanting to protect your father is a noble thing. However, he is the head of the village, and can handle things on his own...he dosn't want you in danger, nor does he want you to have to come save him every time something happens" he says.

"So it's a matter of pride then, great.." Hiccup passed the others, heading for the opening.

Toothless lowers his head, slowly following his rider. Snotlout had not stopped smiling, finding joy in anything that made Hiccup angry or upset, it was like a unnofficial one up for him. Ruffnut was attempting to pull her brother's head out of the wall, kicking him when she was unsuccessful. Tuffnut laughed, sliding his head out of his helmet. Fishlegs looked down, before turning to give Meatlug another big hug. Gobber sighed, and shook his head.

"Lad's got a good heart, ant it's in the right place, but it may be his downfall" he says.

Astrid looked at the others, before taking off after Hiccup.

"Hiccup wait" she grabs his shoulder, "your dad is a strong and smart man...you need to trust him."

Hiccup turns to her, "I do trust him, it's Alvin I don't trust...he's up to something Astrid, and the way everyone is talking, I'm just supposed to sit around until he makes a move, which could be bad for my father, then what?"

"Then we make our move" she says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We have faced him many times before, and all of them we have won" she smiles, "this is just another ploy to get at us, at you, and when the time is right, we will do whatever it takes."

Hiccup takes a deep breath, releasing the feelings that had built up inside of him. He was thankful for Astrid in many ways, this was one of them. She was level-headed, and always trying to think clearly and strategically. Toothless nuzzled his hand, and Stormfly gave a squawk, ruffling her wings. They both seemed to agree with Astrid, which made Hiccup smile and nod.

"When the time is right, Alvin won't know what hit him" he says.


	3. Open Sea Attack

Waiting on Berk was one of the most boring things without a dragon. luckily for Hiccup, he had Toothless, as well as his friends...mostly Astrid at the moment. The two had decided to go for a fly, to get Hiccup's mind off of the discovery of his father potentially heading into Scauldron and Sharkworm territory, as well as facing Alvin. Stormfly and Toothless seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to stretch their wings as well. Astrid smiled at Hiccup, getting Stormfly to tilt slightly, so she swooped low under Hiccup and Toothless, coming up on his other side. She and her dragon moved in a unified graceful manner, which definitely helped to calm Hiccup's nerves. He laughed warmly, but still couldn't shake the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was really wrong.

"Don't worry so much" Astrid speaks up, as if sensing his feelings, "vikings have handled themselves long before we bonded with dragons, and your father has dealt with problems way worse than Alvin before."

Hiccup nodded, "I know, I know, I just can't help it. He's my dad, can you honestly say if it was someone you cared about, you wouldn't be worried?"

Astrid had Stormfly move a bit closer, to where the two dragon's wing tips were only inches apart.

"I care about your dad, he is the head of Berk after all, but I do see what our getting at, and it's natural" she says, "you just got to believe that everything will be alright, and he will come home safe."

It was easier said then done, and in matters like this, Hiccup had become rather impatient, and the more active type. Anyone who knew him from before the whole story with becoming friends with Toothless, or any of their adventures after, would have said in many ways, he was a whole new person. Hiccup had been always so eager to get out there and kill a dragon, to become someone, and make his father proud, to show he wasn't a failure or just in the way. Now he was in a way a defender of Berk, and in charge of a huge part of its future. His father and him had just begun to start to try to understand each other, and grow closer, and now there was a potential that would all end in a matter of days. He trusted his father, and knew the older viking could handle himself, but at the same time, he was also a bit to stubborn and headstrong. He often thought he could take on anything and everything that came his way with force, instead of thinking it through, not that he would really listen to Hiccup if he was there anyways, but he would at least have some backup.

Toothless gave a sudden growl, looking down towards the water. Hiccup looked down as well, and realized they had flown a ways from Berk while he was thinking and talking to Astrid.

"Did you see that?" she said, staring with Stormfly down into the waters.

Hiccup looked closer, to see a black triangle like object rise up out of the water, heading in the same direction. A larger black mass was under it in the water. Hiccup tensed a bit, holding on tighter to Toothless.

"Sharkworm" he says.

"Out here?" Astrid says, looking over at him.

"It must be migrating back towards its' usual waters" Fishleg's words about the northern waters flowed back into his head.

"Dont some of them travel in packs?" Astrid asks, "then why is this one alone?"

"Good question, but I don't think we want to get close enough to find out" Hiccup answered.

"To late" Astrid pointed, her voice rising slightly in nerves.

Looking over, Hiccup noticed the fin of the dragon had changed directions. It was now heading in their direction, and the black mass under it was beginning to rise up under the water.

"Oh boy" Hiccup said, Toothless answering with a roar.

The dragon was massive in its body. It was long, though it did have smaller legs, similar to a Gronkle, with sharp claws. It's wings were folded tight against its' body, before quickly spreading and catapulting the dragon into the air. It's tail was more like a fish's, long, but with a forked fin like appendage at the back. The head of it was flat and wide, like a hammerhead shark, and as it opened its' mouth, those teeth were definitely not something Hiccup wanted to stick around for. Trouble was, although the dragon was massive, it was faster than they thought, shooting at them quickly. Toothless rolled to the side, as Astrid and Stormfly pulled to the other, in time to let the Sharkworm fly past them.

"Man, if that is what only one can do, I am starting to be glad its' not in a group" Astrid called.

She turned Stormfly to face the dragon, as it made a wide turn, and began heading back in their direction. Hiccup needed to think fast, they had studied a bit about Sharkworms, what was it again? The riders pull away once more, as the Sharkworm flies past. It lets out a roar of frustration at them pulling away from it. The sound sent goosebumps flowing over Hiccup's skin. He looks back at it, watching it make another turn to come around again.

"Any time now Hiccup" Astrid calls, Stormfly giving a squawk, and the spikes on her tail extend with the sound of a sword being drawn.

Hiccup recalled what Fishlegs had said when the had been studying them, "the Sharkworm relies more on its speed, and it's strength... it always needs to return to water, only able to stay out of it for ten minutes." He looks up, "that's it!"

"What's it?" Astrid asks.

"The Sharkworm has to stay near water, its' body dries out to fast, and it needs to be able to stay wet" he says.

"Which means, if we heat things up and dry it out-"

"Then it will have to return to the water to replenish before attacking again" he smiles.

Astrid nods, turning Stormfly, so they moved around to the side of the fast flying Sharkworm.

"Ready girl? Aim for as close as you can get" she says.

Stormfly opens her mouth, shooting off a stream of fire out towards the Sharkworm. It roared, trying to stop itself, as the heat flowed over its' massive body. Hiccup patted the side of Toothless' head and nodded, the dragon giving a slight roar, and moving around to the other side of it. He shot off a bolt of his own fire, hitting the Sharkworm in the side, causing it to drop a few feet closer to the water. It's breath had become heavy, as it's skin was drying out from the heat of the two fire attacks. It's wings slightly beginning to have trouble supporting it, it turned its' head up and roared angrily at the two of them. Hiccup was a bit surprised at how its' body had managed to take the hit from Toothless, and still be so active. He remembered Fishlegs saying they were very aggressive and territorial, so maybe the two of them had stumbled to close to its' home. He looked over at Astrid.

"We should get out of here while we can, head home for now" Hiccup called.

She nodded, and Stormfly turned back in the direction of Berk. Hiccup patted Toothless once more.

"Lets go home buddy" he says, and with a roar, Toothless followed suit.

He glance back to see the Sharkworm hovering over the water watching them fly away. It gave a roar, and rose into the air, before pulling its' wings in tight to its' body, and diving into the water. Hiccup let out a breath, if this was the kind of thing his father had to face, along with Scauldrons on top of it, he was definitely going to have to do some major work to get his mind off of it, or he would do something crazy. Then again, most of the time, he ususally did something crazy anyways. This brought a small smile to his face, as adrenaline from the battle moments ago raced through his system. Astrid seemed to be feeling it to, she laughed slightly, having Stormfly dip again, and come up on his other side.

"Woooh...that will definitely wake you up for the day" she smiled.

Hiccup nodded, "though I could do without the almost being eaten part."

She laughed, "Imagine if the others had been there, I can just imagine how Snotlout would have freaked out."

Hiccup laughed to, imagining it for himself. Snotlout was always trying to seem bigger and stronger, but in man situations, he often fell flat on his face. Hiccup was glad that it had been Astrid with him, in a crisis, he could always count on her, and she was easier to talk to and joke with then the others. He looked over at her, the wind blowing over her and her dragon, making her hair blow back and lightly sway in the breeze. Her eyes on Stormfly, as she patted the blue dragon's head, before looking over at him. She brushed her hair back behind one ear, and gave him a smile as well. He felt a slight burn come to his cheeks, and a familiar feeling lightly bubble up in his chest and stomach, like his heart was going to burst. Clearing his throat, he smirked a bit.

"So, think your fast enough to beat us back to Berk?" he challenged.

She gave him a look and a mischievous smile, "just try to keep up."


	4. A Shadow In The Night

Night had fallen, and Hiccup's friends had done their best to keep his mind off of his father. they were interested in hearing about the Sharkworm attack, especially Fishlegs, who went on and on about them until Snotlout threatened to beat his face in. Hiccup now laid in bed, the moon shining through his window. A candle burned low on the table next to his bed. He sighed, sitting up, and looking over at Toothless. The dragon laid peacefully on his large stone slab. He lifts his head to look over at the young viking, letting out a slight growl of concern. Hiccup pushed the blanket away, and stood. Moving over to the window, he looked out at the moon for a moment.

"I know I shouldn't be worrying, but I just...have a really bad feeling about this" he says.

Toothless moves to his rider's side, pushing his nose up into the boy's hand. He gave a slight purr sound, and nuzzled his hand. Hiccup felt better with the dragon by his side, he wasn't alone like he used to be anymore, when everyone only saw him as an annoyance and in the way. Toothless seemed to be a lot calmer and happier now as their friendship had evolved, though there was no denying the fierce dragon spirit still lived on inside of him. Dragons were a growing part of Berk's life now. Toothless moved back to his slab, turning around in a circle, before laying down once more. He knew he should sleep, but he was more wide awake at the moment than anything. Glancing out the window once more, he noticed someone moving down below between the houses. Hiccup raises an eyebrow.

"Well that's odd..." he glances at Toothless, the dragon sleeping peacefully "I'll be back bud."

He slipped out of the house, staying in the shadows a bit as he moved closer to the other houses. The moon overhead helped to light things, so it was not as hard to see as other nights, for that he was thankful. There seemed to be no one out, but the figure Hiccup had seen couldn't have been a fluke...right? He runs a hand through his hair.

"Ah...I must be seeing things" he shakes his head, "I have really got to calm down."

He really needed to get some sleep. Stretching, he yawned a bit. A quick scope of the area would at least calm his mind enough to allow him to sleep. He made his way through the village, everything to be in order. A growl came from the barn in which Astrid usually kept Stormfly. He hurried, something was upsetting her. The door was ajar, and he pulled it open. The agitated dragon squawked, turning, and flinging her tail. Hiccup had to duck, to avoid being hit by the sharp spines that shot off.

"Whoa, easy girl" he held up a hand, slowly moving to her "it's alright, calm down."

Stormfly flared her wings, stumbling back a bit, and giving another loud roar. Hiccup reached up, managing to press a hand against her nose. She squirmed a bit, but he managed to begin calming her.

"That's it..." he smiled a bit.

The door creaked, and Astrid ran in.

"What in the world is going on?!" she noticed hiccup, "Hiccup, do you have any idea what time it is? What is wrong with Stormfly?" she moved to her dragon's side.

"Sorry, but something odd is going on" he says.

He told her quickly what happened , and about the figure. Between the two of them, they managed to calm Stormfly down, and soon the dragon was laying curled up against Astrid, purring in her sleep.

"Who did you think it was?" she asked.

He shook his head, "I don't know, but whoever they were, they obviously were not up to anything good."

Astrid looked down at her dragon, slowly petting along her head and the side of her wing.

"I'm glad Stormfly is alright, but if someone is sneaking around, we should look into it" she says.

Hiccup nodded, standing. He moved to the door, looking out into the village once more.

"Well, their gone for now, we should get some sleep, and look into it in the morning with the others" he turned back to her.

Astrid nodded, "I think I'll stay here with Stormfly for the night, after this, she could use the company."

Hiccup was glad to see how strong the bond between her and Stormfly was, all the others had bonded strongly with their dragons, similar to how he and Toothless had bonded. Well, almost all of them, Snotlout and Hookfang were still working out the kinks.

The walk back to his home was more tiring than he thought after a stressful day and now tonight's excitement. He was glad to find his bed once more, and pull his covers up. Toothless lifted his head slowly, giving a lazy growl, his eyelids half-open. Hiccup chuckled lightly.

"Go back to bed bud, tomorrow we got work to do" he yawned.

The dragon lowered his head again, and Hiccup closed his eyes, letting exhaustion take over his body, and take him into sleep.


	5. Forming A Plan

"So let me get this straight" Snotlout says, "someone is up at night, and you want us to go running off to find out who without anything to go off of?"

It was morning, and all the riders had made their way to the ring. Astrid and Hiccup had recalled the events of the night to them, and so far, Snotlout was being as difficult as always.

"Whoever they are, they messed with Stormfly" Astrid said, placing her fist in her hand, "which means they mess with me. I'm not going to let them get away with this."

Snotlout rolled his eyes, "oh real intimidating, don't worry sweetheart, let the men handle this" he smiled, flexing his arms in an attempt to impress her.

She glared, placing a hand on his face, and pushing him back. He tripped over Hookfangs tail, falling back. The twins laughed, and Snotlout glared up at them.

"What are you laughing at" he snaps.

Fishlegs looked over at Astrid and Hiccup, "who would want to be sneaking around at night, and especially go upset Stormfly?"

Silence fell for a moment, as they thought about it, and Snotlout stood dusting himself off.

"There is always Mildew" Astrid says, "he is always attempting to make trouble, and this sounds like something he would do."

"Maybe, but it seems a bit odd" Hiccup says.

"We could always ask him?" Fishlegs suggested.

"Oh yeah, like he would tell us" Snotlout pushed his way past the others.

Hiccup gave the other viking a bit of a look, "sadly, he's probably right. Mildew would be the last person to let us in on his latest scheme to get rid of the dragons."

"Lets spy on him" Tuffnut says, elbowing his sister.

Ruffnut pushes him away, and soon the two of them were wrestling a bit.

"That's actually not a bad idea" Astrid says, "We can take turns keeping an eye on him, see if he is up to something."

"And if he's not?" Hiccup asked.

"Then that's a good thing...right?" Fishlegs asked, tapping the tips of his fingers together nervously.

"Or, it could mean something worse is going on" Hiccup sighs a bit.

Things were deffinatly going wrong since his father left. They could deal with this, they had been through worse by now, glancing down at his false foot, he gained a bit of his confidence back. Taking on dragons, outcasts, danger and so much more, this was nothing. He smiled, and nodded.

"Alright, we will take turns keeping an eye on Mildew, but we can't use our dragons during unless absolutly necissary, he would get suspicious" he says, "meanwhile the rest of us can keep up things around the island, and get some training in the process."

Astrid smiles, and places a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "your dad would be happy right now."

That helped to hear, "thanks, now who's first?"

Snotlout rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. The twins were still wrestling, and Fishlegs gave a nervous smile.

"I uh...was kind of looking forward to getting some shot training in with Meatlug" he says.

Astrid crossed her arms, "I'll do it, it was Stormfly who was taken on, so the faster I can find the one responsible, the faster I can pay them back."

Hiccup nodded, and looked at the others. They looked relieved to not have to be the first to take on Mildew. He couldn't really blame them, Mildew had to be most people's least favorite person on the island.

"Alright, lets get to work" he smiles.

Astrid took off, heading to go find Mildew. Hiccup and the others got on their dragons, taking off over the city. Stormfly stayed with them, enjoying the flight after the nights events, and wanting to help out as well. They checked on the sheep and the yaks, who were grazing in the fields. They seemed to be fine and calm, as well as the rest of the village. People were going about their business as usual, waving up at the riders when they passed overhead. Keeping busy and making sure things were running smoothly was a big help in calming Hiccups nerves. He was feeling a lot better, and was no longer worried as much as he was. They landed near Gobber's shop. He was working on some weapons and a wheel for a cart. The others took off to keep up the work, and Fishlegs left to get a bit of practice in with Meatlug as he had mentioned earlier. Gobber smiled as he saw Hiccup and Toothless walking up.

"Aye, morning Hiccup" he says, waving the large stone attachment on his arm.

Hiccup smiled, and gave a slight wave, "how's work?" he asked.

"Going well, could you give me a hand though?" he nodded towards the large barrel of water in the corner.

Hiccup picked up the buckets by it and nodded, giving one to Toothless who took it in his mouth.

"We'll be back before you know it" he says.

"Thanks, big help. It would take me to long to go all the way down to fill em up and finish all this work to" Gobber wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "How are you doing by the way?" he asked.

"I am better, not as worried, we're vikings. If we couldn't handle ourselves, we wouldn't have gotted by this long" he laughed.

Gobber nodded with a slight laugh. Walking out with Toothless, he climbed on and the two took off. They headed down to the beach, filling up the buckets. The two of them returned in time to the shop, but Gobber was not there. He emptied the buckets into the barrel.

"Gobber?" he called.

Toothless sniffed around a bit, "hmm, seems he's taken off."

He walked to the door, looking around a bit. He spotted Gobber speaking with another of the older vikings. Was something up? He walked towards them, but as soon as they saw him, the viking said goodbye and walked off.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Just some words from the front...things are going well" Gobber says, though he seemed like he was holding something back.

Hiccup glanced at Toothless, who stared back at him with a puzzling look.

"Are you sure everything is alright?" he asks.

"Things are fine Hiccup" Gobber smiles, "now go on, I can take care of this."

He was a bit resistant to go, but he doubted he was going to get any more information from him for now.

"Lets go bud" he climbs back up on Toothless.

The two took off, flying back to catch up with the others. He was supposed to meet up with Astrid to take over watching Mildew before night, so it wasn't long, before he broke off to go. Toothless seemed a bit reluctant, but after a bit of petting he seemed to calm. Astrid was waiting near the trees near Mildew's house.

"Anything?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid sighed, and shook her head "so far nothing but him taking care of his stupid sheep."

She was happy to get going, wanting to see Stormfly. Hiccup was soon alone, moving to the edge of Mildew's home, it was as Astrid had said. Mildew and his sheep were inside. He leaned against the side with a sigh, slowly sliding down to sit. This was going to be a long afternoon.


	6. Watching Mildew

Watching Mildew made the a thought cross through Hiccup's mind. Correction, THIS was the most boring thing to do on Berk, not waiting. He sighed, listening to the sounds of the old viking fawn over his sheep. It was really an odd relationship once he thought about it. He glanced up at the sky, a few clouds passing over head. It would have been a great day to go out and relax, maybe a leisurely fly. Instead, they had looked after the island, and now he was here. He sighed, nudging the dirt in front of him with his boot. Seemed Mildew really wasn't up to anything for the first time in...He noticed the sound of approaching feet, and stood. He could not risk being seen, so he moved around the back of the house. He peeked around the corner, careful to stay out of sight, when he noticed a tall dark looking viking approaching Mildew's home.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, the viking did not look familiar, he was definitely not from Berk. If he was not from the village though, where did he come from. Hiccup pressed his back up against the wall, listening as a loud banging rattled the old stone house, causing the young viking to flinch.

"Open up you old cod!" the gruff sound of the unfamiliar viking's voice rang.

"Alright alright, I'm coming eh" Mildew snapped, "keep your voice down will ya, don't need all of Berk knowin yer here."

So no one else knew the viking was there? That was definitely not a good sign. Hiccup heard the door slam, and slowly crouched down, making his way back to the window. He was careful to remain unseen, peaking in from the lower corner.

"Aye, Alvin aint to happy with you ya know" the gruff viking said.

The name made Hiccup's skin crawl, and a slight chill move through him. So, straight to the point. This viking worked with Alvin, and some how, Mildew was connected..

"How was I supposed ta know that fool of a man would fare so well against the dragons" Mildew's voice said.

looking in, he noticed the old man sitting, leaning on his staff a bit, as his free hand pet Fungus.

"Alvin don like ter be played, this plan has ter go down without a hitch, or it'll be yer head he's coming for next" the dark viking jabbed a sausage like finger at Mildew.

Hiccup shook his head a bit, he had to find out what this plan was, it obviously had to do with his father, but what. His hand moved to his head, as so many thoughts swam around. The Scauldrons, the Sharkworms, Alvin, his father being called off, the dark viking, and now Mildew...they were all connected, but how? Hiccup sighed, slamming his hand against the side of the hut in frustration. unfortunately, the stone he hit had been a bit loose, part of it snapping of, and falling to the floor. Hiccup froze at the sound.

"Aye, who's there?" the dark viking boomed, and made a rush for the door.

Hiccup had little time to react, he didn't think, turning and bolting towards the treeline. He prayed the two didn't see him, as he broke through the front section of trees and ran. His only thoughts on getting out of there, as his heart raced. Nerves were on a high, as adrenaline coursed through his body. This was not good, not good at all. He ran, soon finding himself out of breath, his leg with the false foot was a bit sore from the constant pounding while running. He leaned against a tree, taking rough gasp like breaths. His hand clenched over his heart, as he closed his eyes. That had been way to close for comfort. He was glad it was over though, he stepped away from the tree, but paused for a moment. What was that? He glanced back the way he had come to see the trees and brush rustling in the distance. He caught sight of a mass of dark messed hair under a large helmet, and a large husky form. The dark viking was coming.

"You have got to be kidding me.." Hiccup breathed, and turned, bolting once more.

This was definitely madness, and on the top of the list of things he did not see coming today. He ran, as fast as his legs would carry him. He was more familiar with the forests, being his homeland. He wove his way through, sliding down hills, and taking every shortcut or dizzying route he could, but the viking was gaining. He needed a plan, and fast. His mind raced, thinking where in the forest was the best place to hide. He smiled, and made a break left. He headed towards where he had housed Toothless back in the day, when dragons were still the enemy. There were many old trees out there, and one he was thinking of in particular. He had used to play there when he was a kid. The base of the tree had a slight hole, just big enough for someone small and slender to get through. Under the tree where the roots were, there was a hollow hole about half as tall as him, but it was good enough.

He closed his eyes, his heart felt like it would burst any moment, and his throat was dry. Breathing sent waves of a burning sensation through his chest and lungs. He made a mental note to definitely get more exercise in if he survived this. He reached the clearing, jumping. He slid down a large hill, not stopping as he aimed for the tree. He slid through the hole in the base, and landed in the dark hole below with a thud. Dirt and bits of root showered down on him, causing him to cough, but approaching sounds caused him to cover his mouth. In mere moments, a pair of big black boots slid down the hill, and stopped a few feet in front of the tree. Everything went silent, as the only sound Hiccup could hear, was the sound of his own heart in his ears. He couldn't move, he wouldn't this was not good at all. The viking turned, listening to the world around him. Vikings were skilled in tracking and such, you had to be to fight dragons and such.

Then came the sound of more feet, and stumbling down the hill came Mildew, his sheep following not far behind.

"Aye, who was it, don tell me you let em get away?" Mildew said in his usual crusty voice.

The viking grabbed Mildew by the front of his clothes, "shhh...shut up, or get out of my way."

He pushed Mildew back, nearly causing the other to stumble and fall.

"Their here...I can feel it" the viking said, stepping closer to the tree.

Hiccup pressed back against the opposite wall of the hole as far as he could, his hands pressed up against it as well. The two were so close to him, if they found him... Mildew shook his head, leaning on the staff of his.

"Did ya get a glimpse of em?" he asked, though quieter than before.

The viking paused, "no, they were small, obviously knew this land...smart..but not smart enough."

He kneeled, brushing his hands through the dirt. Hiccup tensed, his tracks, and the slide marks. He had forgotten...the marks he had caused in the dirt, they were fresh, and would lead to... He swallowed. The viking pressed some of the soil through his fingertips, looking at it.

"They definitely came through here" he says.

Mildew rolled his eyes, but remained silent. The viking slowly stood, and Hiccup watched as his boots turned once again in the direction of the tree. Slowly, he approached. Hiccup's mind went blank, the viking was coming, and he was trapped.


	7. Kinda The Same

The boots stopped right in front of the tree, he heard a large thump, the sound of the large viking hitting his fist against the trunk of the tree. It shuddered, more dirt and root chips showered down on Hiccup's head. He closed his eyes tightly, and waited for what was to come.

"Alright, lets get back" the viking said, turning away.

Ok? He had not been expecting that..

"What? You're gonna let em get away?" Mildew snapped.

The viking once more strode forward, grabbing the front of Mildew's shirt.

"Think about it you fool. Who's gonna believe em, if you're at home, and no other viking to be found hmm?" he said, shoving Mildew back.

The older viking glared at the larger one, as he moved back up the hill.

"Come on, we ain't got all day...we can talk on the way"

Mildew shook his head, but followed. Hiccup opened his eyes, to see Fungus standing still in the clearing. He was staring right at Hiccup under the tree. Hiccup swallowed.

"Come on Fungus, dinner sounds good yeah?" Mildew called.

The sheep gave a baa, and slowly turned to follow. Hiccup didn't know how long he waited, but he realized he had held his breath a lot in there. He let himself take a few deep breaths, before moving to the hole. Getting out was a bit tougher then getting in, it took a few minutes for Hiccup to manage with his leg, the soil kept giving way below. He stood, dusting himself off, glad to be free of the cramped space. He looked around, making sure he was in fact alone. Leaning against the tree, his mind began racing again. This...this was not what he wanted to hear, this was not what he wanted to be happening. He sighed, his father was definitely in trouble, and he was the only one at the moment who knew. The trip back to the village was slow, Hiccup needed some time to think, by the time he made it within view of his home, it was dark out, and the torches had been lit. He was not paying attention, so he failed to notice the large black dragon barraling towards him.

The impact sent him flying back onto the ground, as the heavy weight of the dragon on top of him gained his attention. Toothless was licking his face, giving growls and purrs of relief and happiness to see him back. Astrid opened the door to his home, hearing the commotion.

"Hiccup!" she rushed down the steps, soon followed by the others.

Hiccup managed to push Toothless off, laughing a bit. He turned a bit serious once more as he stood, Astrid throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"We thought something had happened when you didn't come back before night" she says, pulling back.

"What happened to you?" Tuffnut said, looking over Hiccup's less than neat appearance.

"Roll in the mud?" Ruffnut asked, and they laughed.

Hiccup attempted to brush some of the dirt off, "no, and you wouldn't believe what I've been through tonight even if I told you."

"Try us" Astrid said, crossing her arms.

Hiccup glanced around a bit, a few stray people looking over at them.

"Ah, not out here, lets go inside.."

Astrid placed a bowl of hot stew and a mug in front of Hiccup once they were inside.

"Eat" she said, though her tone was more commanding than friendly.

Hiccup didn't need to be told twice, as he realized just how hungry he was. The others sat, getting comfortable, though Snotlout stayed leaning against the wall near the door.

"You gonna tell us or not?" he said.

Astrid shot him a look, "let him eat Snotlout."

Hiccup wiped his mouth a bit with the back of his sleeve, "I'm fine..he's right, you guys need to know."

"ooo...serious" Tuffnut said, leaning forward a bit near the fireplace.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Mildew is working with Alvin."

He didn't feel like sugar-coating it, he was to tierd for that at the moment. Toothless gave a growl from the corner at the mere mention of the viking's name. The others froze.

"What...how do you know?" Astrid asked, wanting to get the facts straight.

Hiccup told them everything, from the time Astrid had left, to when he had gotten out of the hole and returned home. The others were silent. Only the sound of the fireplace was heard, as all of them were stuck in their thoughts. Snotlout pushed away from the wall, moving forward past Astrid. He slammed his hands down on the table by Hiccup.

"Are you sure that is what happened?" he said.

Hiccup glared a bit, "why would I make it up?"

"Uh I don't know" he gestured slightly with his hands, "maybe cause you've been bugging us about your dear old daddy since he left, and you want to have some excuse to go riding off to be the hero again."

"Oh and I suppose I decided to run around, rough and dirty myself up for good measure to" Hiccup countered.

Snotlout gave a sarcastic smile, "I don't doubt you fell on your face, happens a lot, kinda clumsy eh Hiccup?"

Hiccup stood, moving close to Snotlout, staring him in the eyes. He didn't care if he was in his personal space or not.

"My father is in trouble, and I do not really care what you think, one way or another I will save him..with or without you" he pushed past him, heading for the door.

Man he sounded a lot braver then he felt, his nerves were screaming at him. He had an even greater bad feeling then before, and he had no idea what he was up against. Astrid moved in the way, blocking the door.

"Will you calm down..both of you" she snapped glaring, "Snotlout you're a jerk, and Hiccup your hot-headed right now, both of you need to take a breath. It has been a long day, and Hiccup is in no condition to go anywhere tonight, especially alone, not that we would honestly let him anyways."

Hiccup looked at her, then slowly at Fishlegs as he stepped forward.

"She's right...You need rest Hiccup, and Snotlout is angry, cause his dad's out there to" he said quietly.

Hiccup paused, "what..."

He turned to face Snotlout, who was glaring at him.

"Yea...so what, my dad is out there to, one of the vikings on the ship your dad drug off with him" he said, "but the difference between me and this loser is my dad is a Jorgenson, and Jorgenson never lose."

He shoved his way past Hiccup and forced the door open, walking out and letting it slam behind him. It was silent once more. No one really knew what to say. Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Get some rest...we can all meet in the morning at the academy and discuss a plan" she says.

Even Ruffnut and Tuffnut were silent, standing, they shared a glance. Slowly everyone left, leaving a sore, weathered and tired Hiccup alone with Toothless. He sighed, rubbing his neck a bit, as he turned. Toothless sat up, tilting his head with a curious look.

"I don't know what we're gonna do buddy...I really don't" he said, making his way up the stairs.

Toothless followed, moving to his rock slab, as Hiccup moved to a bowl. He poured some water inside, and slipped off his vest and shirt. He flinched, his shoulder hurt. He must have hit it quite a bit with all the day's action. He sighed, dipping a cloth in the water and attempting to wipe away some of the dirt and grime. The water felt nice and helped a bit, Toothless curled up and watched slightly, a bit of a worried look in his eyes. Hiccup did his best to clean up, before moving to his bed. He sat down, and just stared off into the wall for a bot. It was still hard to take in, they had guessed Mildew had something to do with it, but Hiccup had thought it would have been to obvious. Seemed some things were right in front of your face for a reason. He slowly laid back, groaning a bit as his sore body fought to relax. He didn't want to move, not even to blow out the candle or pull the covers up. He was exhausted, and before he knew it, he was asleep.


	8. The Thing About Jorgensons

Hiccup didn't register it was morning, until he found himself staring into the big green eyes of a certain dragon. Tilting his head, Toothless attempted a smile. Hiccup smiled, and lifted a hand to pet the dragon's head. After a moment, Toothless turned and took off, rushing downstairs. Hiccup slowly sat up, stretching his arms above his head. He still felt stiff, but better, the day before felt more like a bad dream however. He sighed, and slowly managed to push himself up to stand. Toothless growled from down below, nudging at his empty fish basket. Hiccup knew Toothless was hungry, his own stomach growled a bit, he had not eaten much the day before. He made his way down the stairs, retrieving some fish for Toothless. He didn't hesitate to begin gobbling them down happily. Hiccup himself grabbed his bag, placing his sketch book, some bread and other food that would not spoil inside, and some charcoal to write with. He made sure to have something to drink as well, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

"Time to go bud" he said.

Toothless lifted his head, the basket on the end of his snout. Hiccup laughed, as the dragon looked cross-eyed at the basket, before flicking it off and sending it rolling across the floor. He opened the door, and didn't even have to tell Toothless twice, before he was bounding out the door followed by the young viking. He was ready to get going, the others were waiting for them, and he was not going to wait around forever to go see if things were alright. He climbed up on to Toothless' saddle, and clicked into the trigger for the tail. Toothless shot into the air, giving a slight roar as they took off. the rush of air on his face was just what he needed, refreshing and waking him up. He looked down at Berk, at his home. He was not going to let Alvin harm the people he cared about, no matter what it took. Toothless shook his head a little, and sped up towards the academy.

Just as expected, the others were arriving as well. He had Toothless spiral down and land. Hopping off, he felt everyone's eyes immediately on him. He forced himself to turn and face them. He could see all their faces, Fishlegs, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and...wait...

"Where's Snotlout?" Hiccup asked.

The group exchanged glances.

"None of us have seen him since last night" Astrid said slowly.

"He's probably still steaming...I'd be steaming...If...ya know" Tuffnut rubbed the back of his neck.

His sister hit him in the arm, and he shot her a look. Hiccup looked down a bit, where would Snotlout go...unless. He sighed, turning back to Toothless.

"I'm going to go look for him, stay here" he patted the side of Toothless' head, and they took off.

The skies were clear, so far nothing. He flew over Snotlout's home, and nothing. Sighing, he pulled off over the forest. It was hard to see through all of the trees to good, so soon enough they had to land.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup called, Toothless giving a roar.

He listened for any sound, but the trees and the area were silent. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Where would he go?" he crossed his arms.

Toothless sniffed the air, turning his head from one direction to the other. After a moment, he gave a roar, and moved over, nudging Hiccup with his nose. Hiccup turned, climbing up on his back once more. He was barely on before Toothless took off through the trees. He was making his way towards the beach. Hiccup wondered where he was taking him to. As they broke the treeline, it became clear. Hookfang was standing near the edge of the water, as Snotlout packed up his bag. Well, seemed his hunch had been right. Hiccup hopped down from Toothless, walking over. Once Snotlout caught sight of him, he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"To know what you plan on doing" Hiccup says, "you were just planning on rushing off after saying I was a fool for wanting to do the same?"

Snotlout stopped, and turned towards him "what does it matter, so you wont be the big hero for once, so what."

Hiccup groaned a bit, "is that what this is about? I'm no hero...your always saying I'm weak, clumsy, an more...I've herd that all my life, and still I'm just...me."

"Yeah well, I'm gonna be me, and I am a winner and a viking, so stay out of my way" Snotlout hopped up on Hookfang.

Hiccup moved in front of the large dragon, spreading his arms to block his way, though he knew the dragon could easily get past him if he really wanted to.

"What do you plan on doing once you get there? Your going to need help, and I'm sure your dad would be a bit angry having his son have to rescue him" Hiccup said.

Snotlout leaned forward in his saddle a bit, "Jorgensons don't need to be rescued...but there is no harm in a little...backup."

Hiccup felt he had little chance of getting through to the other, "then at least let me come with you."

"I don't need you tagging along, I can handle myself" Snotlout glared.

"Yes, but you are the one who just said there was nothing wrong with a little backup" Hiccup smiled.

For once, so did Snotlout. For a moment it was silent, before he shrugged.

"Fine, just don't hold me back" he says.

"Great!" said another voice.

Both look to see the others and their dragons come down the beach. It had been Astrid who spoke.

"When do we leave" she smiled, crossing her arms.

"We?" Hiccup said, raising an eyebrow.

"We will just follow you anyways, so no point in saying no" she shrugged.

"Yeah, cause we're the backup's backup" Tuffnut laughed.

Hiccup looked at him, and he froze.

"What...wasn't like we were eavesdropping" he says.

Hiccup smiles, "I wasn't thinking that...until now."

"Oh...oopse" Tuffnut smiled.

They laughed, and it felt good, Hiccup needed that, and he was sure the others did as well, but there was still a major part of the big picture missing.

"We still don't know what their plan is...if we go flying in there with no idea...we may be walking right into a trap" Hiccup sighed.

They thought for a moment, then Snotlout grabbed Hookfang's reigns.

"We may not know, but we know someone who does" he pulls, Hookfang taking off.

The other's quickly got on their dragons and followed. It was soon clear where they were going. There was an old cranky viking who needed to be paid a visit.


	9. Something I've Always Wanted To Do

It was safe to say that Mildew was not expecting the riders, for as soon as he saw the approaching dragons, he turned to hurry inside. Snotlout was not keen on letting that happen though. He pulled on Hookfang's reigns, and the large dragon dove down. Hiccup and the others watched, as the dragon grabbed the old viking in its' claws, lifting him high up into the air.

"Snotlout" Hiccup spoke, keeping on guard to make sure the other did not do anything stupid.

Snotlout did not even acknowledge him, as he looked down at Mildew cowering a bit in the dragon's claws.

"First and only chance old man, tell me what you and Alvin are up to" he snarled.

"I have no idea what yer talking about" Mildew snapped.

Snotlout shrugged, "to bad, Hookfang.."

The large dragon let the old viking slip from his claws a bit, Hiccup's hands tightened on Toothless' saddle.

"Gah!" Mildew grabbed ahold of Hookfang's legs.

The dragon tightened its' grip, and Snotlout smirked.

"You have one minute to spill, or you will be a splat on the ground"

Mildew looked over at Hiccup, "you can't honestly let him do this."

Hiccup looked over at Snotlout. It was a long shot, but he had to trust the other knew at least partly what he was doing. Hiccup leaned back a bit casually in the saddle, and pretended to examine his nails a bit.

"I don't know...Snotlout never really listens to me anyways, and I'd hate to be the one on his bad side holding back information" he said casually.

Snotlout smiled a bit more, and the older viking looked between the two. The others seemed to catch on a bit.

"Oh yeah" Astrid spoke, "it's not like Hiccup or any of us are his keeper."

"Plus no one likes you anyways" Tuffnut laughed.

"Could always say it was an accident" Snotlout said, "You just...slipped."

Mildew swallowed, and looked at them all. He glared, even though he probably knew Hiccup and the others really wouldn't let Snotlout do that, he was not ready to stake his life on it.

"Agh! Fine! Just put me down!" he yelled.

Hiccup smiled, and slowly they landed. Mildew seemed very happy to be back on solid ground, but as he leaned on his staff, he glared at them all. His eyes coldly went to Hiccup.

"Your father will be hearing about this...if he survives that is" he gave a slight toothy yellow smile.

"What do you mean" Hiccup asked, stepping a bit closer.

Snotlout grabbed onto the front of Mildew's clothes.

"Spill it old man" he glared.

Mildew laughed, "Isn't it obvious, the meeting was a trap, and dear old daddy fell for it."

Hiccup glared, "What is Alvin planning?"

Mildew only smiled, and Snotlout shook him a bit, but he would say nothing more.

"We have to go...now" Hiccup turned.

The others slowly began following him, and Mildew laughed once more.

"You wont make it, and besides, who's gonna believe you all after this. You have no proof at all" he cackled.

Hiccup paused, clenching his hands and closing his eyes. The anger, the worry, the fear inside of him all bubbling up. Mildew's laughter was the last straw. He turned, walking forward.

"They may not believe us, but they wont really believe you either...and there is something I have always wanted to do" he said.

Mildew's laugher paused for a moment as Hiccup spoke.

"Wat do you-"

He didn't get to finish, as Hiccup clenched his fist, and pulled it back. Hitting Mildew was like hitting a wall in many ways. The force knocking the older viking back and onto the ground, while sending a ripple effect up Hiccup's arm. For a moment, the all just stood there in silence, Mildew did not get up, out cold. Hiccup glared a bit, before coming to his senses. He hissed a bit in pain, and shook his hand a bit.

"Ow...ok...not my best idea" he said.

The others moved forward, Snotlout and the twins laughing.

"Whoa..." Ruffnut nudged Mildew with her toe.

"I can't believe you just did that" Astrid said.

"Niether can I" Hiccup said, lightly rubbing his knuckles.

He looked down at the viking, it had been very unlike him, but the other had deserved it in far more ways than one.

Snotlout laughed, "there may be hope for you yet."

Hiccup gave a small smile, that was one of the first complements the other had ever given him.

"Uh...will he be ok?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid kneeled by the older viking for a moment, looking him over.

"Mildew is sadly tougher then he looks...He will be fine, just out for a bit" she smiled a bit.

Hiccup was glad to hear that, though they could not wait around any more. If Alvin had a plan, he had almost three full days head start, and with the time it would take them to get out there, maybe more. He turned away, moving back to Toothless.

"We have to go...now.." he said.

Toothless gave a slight roar, and the other nodded. The moved to their dragons, and the group took off into the sky. They made the slightest stop for supplies, before they were on their way.

"We're coming dad" Hiccup whispered as they flew away from Berk, "I just hope we're not to late.."


	10. Enter Alvin The Treacherous

"I'm bored...are we there yet?" Tuffnut asked, slouched forward on the horns of his dragon head.

"Does it look like we're there?" Astrid asked.

"Uh...maybe" Tuffnut said.

Snotlout rolled his eyes, "all I see is water...rocks...and oh boy more water."

Hiccup sighed, they had flown for hours, and so far no sign of anything at all. No island, no boats, no trace of their fathers or of Alvin.

"Where could they be..." he sighs.

Fishlegs slid his hand into his bag, pulling out the book of dragons. Snotlout noticed.

"You idiot, what did you bring that for" he snapped.

Fishlegs jumped a bit, almost dropping the book, "I thought is might be useful, with the Scauldrons and the Sharkworms...plus you never know what else Alvin might have up his sleeve."

"Exactly, so you bring the book...which he wants...right under his nose" Snotlout glared, "idiot."

Astrid sighed, "Snotlout is..partially right, is it a good idea to bring the book with us when we have no idea what we are even heading into?"

"To late to take it back now" Hiccup said, "besides, I think Fishlegs had good intentions...we may need the information inside it, but if things get bad..get the book out of there Fishlegs...promise?"

Fishlegs hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Hiccup was worried, his father and the others were in danger, and now they were flying off blind to go and help them out. Even worse, they had said nothing about leaving, Gober would surely know they were gone by now. What if his father and the others returned while they were out here? What if that had been Mildew and Alvin's plan, with the help of that dark viking...it was an option. Lure his dad out here, making Hiccup and the others worry, and they had to figure he would attempt to find out what was going on and come rescue him...what if nothing had been wrong, but Alvin had been planning on having Hiccup and Toothless come anyways. There were so many options, and none of them were looking good at all.

"Um...guys" Ruffnut spoke up, her eyes on the water below.

They looked down to see a huge shadow move under them from in the water.

"Scauldron" Fishlegs whispered, swallowing.

"I guess that means we're heading in the right direction" Hiccup said, "stay on guard, and close...we don't want to get separated."

The farther they flew, the more giant rocks and jagged ones they ran into. It was beginning to get late in the day to, and the dragons were beginning to get tired from the constant flying without a break.

"We should land soon" Astrid said, looking over at Hiccup.

He nodded, and looked around. On the horizon, he noticed a large rocky island beginning to come into view.

"Is that it?" Tuffnut asked.

"Maybe" Hiccup answered, "one way to find out."

They flew in closer, landing to allow the dragons to rest their wings. The shore of the island was odd, it was definitely a beach, but as Hiccup kneeled, he picked up a handful of sand. It was black. He raised an eyebrow, letting the small grains fall through his fingers. The water lapping at the shore, his eyes travelled up to the inner part of the island. There was perfectly green grass, and large trees, but in the distance, large black mountains loomed.

"What is this place..." Astrid said, though not really expecting an answer.

Hiccup stood, dusting his pants off, as his eyes moved back to the water's edge. It was then that he saw it, poking out from a bunch of sharp rocks over on the side of the shore. A large wooden dragon like head.

"The ship" he hurried over.

The others followed, and sure enough, it was a viking's ship, and not just any ship, one from Berk.

"Safe to say we're in the right place" Snotlout confirmed what they had already guessed.

"Problem is...where is the crew?" Astrid crossed her arms.

Hiccup ran his hand lightly along the side of the large ship. It looked perfectly in tact, so it was probably safe to say it hadn't been attacked. Hiccup looked around, but Astrid was right, there was no sign of the crew, of Thornado or his father.

"We have to split up" Hiccup said.

"What...are you sure that's safe?" Fishlegs asked, holding the Book of Dragons closer.

"We have no choice, we need to find them, and the longer we argue, the more they slip away."

"Hiccup's right...we can do this, we've always been able to get the job done" Astrid smiled a bit.

Hiccup was thankful for her support, "ok, Fishlegs, you and the twins stay here...you will have plenty of space, and no one can sneak up on you. Keep an eye on the ship, and if anyone comes back or you're in danger, send a blast of fire into the air and get out."

Fishlegs and the twins nod.

"Astrid, you and Snotlout are with me..we need to comb the island, see if we can find anything at all. If we run into trouble, we'll do the same" Hiccup was well aware of the danger in this plan.

They mounted their dragons again, and took off into the air. The island from above gave little away. The trees were thick and close together.

"We can't see anything from up here" Snotlout said after a while, motioning a bit with his hand at the trees.

"We'll have to go on foot.." Hiccup answered reluctantly.

They landed in the trees, and it was like someone had flipped a switch. Things got darker and a bit colder.

"If this is what it looks like when the sun is up, I'd hate so see after dark" Astrid said, wrapping her arms around herself a bit.

"I agree, so lets work fast, and get out of here" Hiccup said, walking forward.

It was a bit harder for the dragons to maneuver around, the trees not leaving much room. This would not be a good place for a dragon fight. No moving room, little light, and the slightest spark could set it all on fire. Did Alvin know all this and choose this area for that reason? He doubted it, Alvin wasn't the brightest at plan making most of the time but...it was a thought. They moved along slowly, doing their best to stay quiet. Hookfang was having the most trouble, being the largest dragon. His horns kept getting caught between trees.

"Come...on.." Snotlout said through clenched teeth, his feet on the tree trunks as he pulled on the dragon's horns.

The dragon roared a bit, shaking his head.

"Shhh...Snotlout" Hiccup hissed.

"So much for the quiet approach" Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Blam him" Snotlout said, tugging more on the horns, "I can't help he has a fat head."

Astrid sighed, and moved over to help him. Hiccup shook his head, looking around a bit as the other two dragons watched a bit amused. He noticed a light a bit aways, and slowly made his way through the trees towards it. It was a clearing, but not a natural one. The broken tree trunks and toppled over trees, accompanied with the kicked up waves of dirt gave it away.

"This had to have been Thornado" Hiccup smiled. He turned back to the trees, placing his hand to the side of his mouth, "hey guys...I think I found...something..."

His voice had gotten quieter, as he noticed a large man shaped shadow fall over him.

"Uh-oh..." he slowly turned, but saw little before a large sack was put over him.

He struggled, but could do little against the large strong arms holding him tightly.

"Let..me..go" he yelled, but his voice was muffled by the sack.

Whoever it is was running, and the journey was anything but smooth. Hiccup felt like a rag doll, being tossed around. He was tense, where was this guy taking him? Wherever it was, it had to do with Alvin, and it could not be good.

"Toothless!" he yelled, trying to at least alert his dragon, but he was unsure if the other would hear him.

After a bit, he was thrown onto the ground, which knocked the wind out of him. He felt a large knee pressing into his back, as his arms were grabbed and forced behind him.

"Ow, hey watch it" he struggled once more.

He was finally released, and pulled to his knees, the sack pulled off. His eyes closed for a moment as the light hit him again, flinching at how bright it was. Torches were lit all around, and he could see the shapes of men in a circle around him. They were laughing a bit, and as his eyes slowly adjusted, the ring parted in front of him. A large viking with brown hair and a large beard stepped forward. His yellow smile and the look in his eyes sent cold chills down Hiccup's spine. He glared, as the name slipped out of his mouth.

"Alvin"


	11. Reunions and Risks

"Nice of you to join us boy" Alvin spoke with a sarcastic ring to his voice.

Hiccup felt his stomach flip, but he kept his glare, not looking away from the man for even a moment. Alvin was not the smartest, but he was very dangerous. None of the others knew he was here, he wondered if any of them had even noticed he vanished. This day just kept getting worse and worse, but for now, one thing was on his mind.

"Where's my father?"

Alvin laughed, "aye, straight to the point. Well, maybe if you play nice, I'll tell ya."

Hiccup rolled his eyes a bit, "let me guess what your version of 'nice' means...you want me to train your dragons as usual, sorry, not gonna happen."

Alvin glared, stepping forward, and grabbing Hiccup by the front of his vest and shirt. Hiccup swallowed a bit as he was lifted up off the ground effortlessly. It definitely was scary sometimes how strong vikings were. He could feel Alvin's foul breath on his face as he hissed a bit.

"Don't test me boy" he said, moving within an inch of Hiccup's personal space.

It was not one of the most pleasant things, but Hiccup was not about to let the other know he was even remotely worried.

"I am merely being honest" Hiccup shrugged a bit.

Alvin threw him back on the ground, and with his hand bound, Hiccup could do little to brace for or stop the impact. Hitting solid rock jarred him a bit. He blinked, shaking his head slightly, as he turned his focus back on Alvin. It didn't stay there long, as his eyes wandered to a familiar large viking standing off to the side. He had black hair and a large beard. It was the viking Mildew had talked to back on Berk. Well, safe to say the hunch of them all working together fully had just been confirmed, to bad there was little right now he could do about it.

"You have two options here" Alvin said, regaining Hiccup's attention. "One, you can give me what I want, and no one gets hurt...or two...you can resist, and watch everyone ya care about die."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed once more.

"As we speak, yer friends are being rounded up" Alvin went on, sitting on a stone ledge. "And I'm sure ya know by now I 'ave yer father" he laughed.

A few of the other vikings laughed, and slowly Hiccup forced himself up to stand. He glanced around a bit, catching no sight of his father, and the exit was blocked by two large viking.

"I want to see them safe" Hiccup said.

Alvin quirked an eyebrow.

Hiccup took a step forward, "you heard me, either I see them safe, all of them, or you find yourself another dragon trainer."

Hiccup smiled a bit, he knew Alvin had little choice, there was no one else that had the full skill or talent with dragons as him. He had no intention of giving Alvin what he wanted, but at least this way it would buy him some time to think. He hoped the others would put up a fight and hopefully get away. Toothless would probably be attempting to track him by now, but he could not risk Alvin finding out anything. He also needed to make sure his father and the other vikings were ok. Alvin pondered for a moment, tapping his chin. He finally gave a wave of his hand in Hiccup's direction.

"Ya got yerself a deal boy, but don't be tryin no funny business, or things wont go so well for any of ya" he said with a slight smile.

Hiccup really did not want to know the meaning behind that smile. He felt a pair of large hands grab him from behind, and he was dragged away from Alvin who had turned to the black-haired viking. There was something more going on with that guy than Alvin or Mildew were letting on...but what. Hiccup was forced to walk along a narrow path in the rocks. He didn't protest, he needed to think and get his mind cleared. This was going to take some work to get out of. He was soon pulled by a large boulder, where three vikings stood heavily armed. With a nod from Savage, who had accompanied Hiccup and his guards, the three guarding the bolder pushed it aside. A large cave was hidden behind, and within a moment, Hiccup was shoved inside, and the bolder was replaced over the entrance.

It took Hiccup's eyes a few moments to adjust to the sudden pitch black of the cave, only a few slivers of light came in from around the blocked entrance. Hiccup sighed, kicking a rock near his foot.

"Well that could have gone better" he said.

"Hiccup?" a familiar voice cut through the cave's silence.

Hiccup squinted a bit, and looked into the darkness, "...dad?"

A large black shadowy form moved forward from within the cave. For a moment, Hiccup's breath caught and his heart skipped a beat. As the form got closer, the distinct form of his large father came into partial view. His heart immediately rose, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Dad!" he moved forward.

Stoick moved forward as well, leaning down to wrap his arms tightly around his son in an embrace.

"Ah Hiccup...I was afraid it was you, but I am very glad to see you.." his father spoke with a slight warmer tone to his usual strong voice.

"I know, you told me to stay home but...I couldn't after all that's happened...I knew you were in danger and I-"

"Hiccup...Hiccup" his father cut him off with a smile in the dark, "it's ok son...I'm glad to see you would come to the aid of a fellow viking and your father...but right now, we have to find a way to get out of here."

Hiccup nodded, "true, but I'm not much use, especially cuffed."

He pulled against the restraints a bit, and his father turned him to inspect them a bit, though without light, it was hard to see anything. Hiccup's eyes went back to the cave, as he scanned along it.

"Do you know how far this goes?" he asked.

"It's about a good house size, but there are no other exits...I've checked a few times" Stoick sighed.

Hiccup looked back towards the entrance then paused, "wait...are you the only one in here?"

"Aye" his father responded, meaning yes.

"Where are the others then? Snotlout's dad?" a slight worry formed inside of him.

"Last I saw of them, they were being led off around the mountain, and I was forced in here"

Hiccup sighed, "he knew...he knew all along that eventually I would come." Hiccup turned to his father, "that's why he kept you close, he knew I would come to rescue you, and if caught, demand to see you safe...but he couldn't afford to keep all of you together, to dangerous."

Stoick nodded a bit, placing a large hand on the smaller viking's shoulder, "we will save them, and we will get out of here."

Hiccup forced a smile, his father was confident, and he knew he was trying to make him feel better. It was plain to see though that they had walked right into Alvin's hand. Worst part was he had expected this and did it anyways. He hadn't even been smart enough to have a plan. He shook his head, he felt a bit foolish. He knew his father wouldn't say it, but he had let his emotions cloud his judgement a bit. He would make this right. Problem was, now Alvin had him, plus a lot of hostages. Getting out with just his team half the time was hard enough, now he had to worry about a group of headstrong muscled vikings. Hiccup smiled a bit, that wasn't always a bad thing though..if you knew how to use it.

Stoick sat on a bolder not far away, "now, how are we going to get us and them out.."

"Like this" hiccup smiled, moving to the entrance. "Hey! I want to see Alvin again...tell him I have something to discuss with him."

For a moment, no response came, "why should we? You can talk to him when he's good an ready."

Hiccup leaned against the rock wall near the entrance, "ok, but don't blame me if he gets mad at you for him missing out on something important from the dragon trainer, I'll make sure to tell him how you ignored my reaching out."

He waited, and smiled at the sound of the bolder being pushed aside. His father gave him a slight look in the growing light.

"I hope you know what you're doing" he chided.

Hiccup nodded, "trust me.."

One of the guards grabbed him, pulling him out as Stoick stood. They pointed their swords at him, to keep him at bay as the bolder was pushed back into place. Hiccup was dragged back along the path he had been a bit before, and back towards the area where Alvin and his men were. The viking gave a slight look as Hiccup was pushed before him.

"Aye...what's this?" he snarled.

"He...said he..needed to see you" the guard said.

Alvin looked over at Hiccup, "I thought ya wanted to see yer father boy."

"Oh I do, and I am glad he is safe, but there is more that we need to discuss" Hiccup smiled.

Alvin narrowed his eyes a bit, "if this is some kind of trick, yer friends will pay the price."

"Oh no, it's not a trick, merely a...buisiness proposition" Hiccup shrugged.

Alvin raised an eyebrow, "go on..."

"Prisoners are a pain, especially a bunch of kids and dragons, and big burly vikings..." Hiccup said.

"Then perhaps I should just kill em" Alvin smiled.

"No...no no...that would be bad" Hiccup said quickly.

Alvin glared a bit, "why is that?"

"You kill them, I wont train dragons...you would lose your leverage, and I would have nothing to lose" Hiccup said.

Even Alvin could see the logic in this, "then what did ya have in mind eh?"

"Let them go...all of them...you can keep me and my father, but let the vikings and my friends with their dragons go" Hiccup explained.

Alvin laughed, "what do ya take me for boy? As soon as I let em go, they'll be right back tryin to rescue ya."

"What if I can give you their word and mine they wond come back to save me or my father" Hiccup countered.

Alvin went silent. Hiccup swallowed, this was a risky move, but it would at least mean the others were safe. If it was just him and his father, the two could work together and would have a better time of slipping out then a large group. Alvin took a moment to ponder all this, before rising from his seat. He stepped down from the slight ledge, and walked right up to Hiccup, who stood his ground. He almost felt like looking away or throwing up, as Alvin's breath hit him when he leaned in to his face and gave a large, toothy, smile.

"Ya got yerself a deal dragon trainer" Alvin laughed.


	12. The Begining Of The Uncertain

Hiccup was happy with the news, but the one part he was not looking forward to was facing the others. Alvin had taken the bait, though this was only the beginning, he still had to actually get the others to leave. On top of that, he would still need to find a way to get himself, his father and most likely Toothless out. He doubted the other would let his dragon go with them and at the same time, he doubted he would keep him to close at hand. There had already been far to many times where Hiccup had slipped away from him by flying off on Toothless. No, he had a feeling Alvin would keep the NightFury close enough to keep an eye on, but out of the dragon rider's reach. That was, if they had even managed to get ahold of the dragon in the first place. Toothless was still one hell of a fighter, even without Hiccup to help him fly. He eyed the cliffs as they were walking down to the beach.

Hiccup had told the others to wait down there, they would be better able to protect themselves then in the forest. He sighed, placing a hand to his head for a moment. This had all been a foolish trap, that they had all gotten stuck in. First his father, now him. Maybe stupidity ran in the family. The slight joke earned a very small smile from the teen, he needed it with the weight and pressure that was setting in on his heart. He could barely keep the nerves and the thoughts at bay. His mind wanted to speed off, already trying to pull up worst case scenarios and what could go wrong. He clenched his hands, no, he would not back down and he would not be afraid. They had been in worse situations than this, every time they managed to get out. He had to trust in himself, his friends and the dragons.

To bad thinking all of this didn't make the feelings go away much. As they neared the shore, it was clear that some sort of battle had taken place on the dark shores. Hiccup noticed snapped trees, gouged out trails in the rocks, some of which were still smouldering. He was nudged forward a bit, in a silent gesture of 'get on with it already'. If anything, vikings were not ones for patients. He took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

Cupping his hands a bit to his mouth he called, "Astrid? ... Snotlout? ... Fishlegs? ... Ruffnut, Tuffnut? ... Toothless?"

His calls echoed a bit and he sighed. For a moment, it felt like this was going to be a lot harder then he thought. Slowly however, an answer came.

"Hiccup?!"

The voice was clearly female and one that he recognized well.

"Astrid!" he smiled, moving forward, as from behind a large rock down the beach, a blond head rose.

Astrid smiled as she saw the other, abandoning her place, and running over to him. Slowly the others surfaced, looking out to see what was going on.

Astrid slowed down a bit, as she looked past him. Noticing the other non friendly vikings, her look began to take a more serious turn.

"Hiccup...what are they doing here?" the emphasis she put on 'they', was clearly distasteful.

He sighed a bit, waiting until the others had come over. This was the part he had not been looking forward to, but slowly he explained. Astrid's look darkened, then turned slightly to disbelief. Snotlout only seemed to look angrier, and the twins more clueless. Fishlegs was shaking a bit, looking like he might wet himself under all the stress and pressure.

"No way...Absolutely no way!" Astrid said, her voice building with each word as she crossed her arms.

"You really think we're just gonna hop on our dragons, and be on our merry little way?" Snotlout asked sarcastically, as he got a bit closer to Hiccup.

Hiccup sighed, "you don't understand. I need you guys to get the vikings home safely...you have to."

"We don't have to do anything" Snotlout challenged, "you're not the boss of me or us. I came here to get my father and to kick some tail, not to turn and run home with my tail between my legs like a coward!"

"Don't you get it!" Hiccup shouted.

The others looked at him in a bit of a shocked silence. Hiccup was not one usually to burst like that unless things really got on his nerves or were serious.

He sighed, lowering his voice and calming a bit, "Your dad will be among those released...you have to make sure he and the others get back to Berk safely."

"And what about you?" Astrid asked, still keeping her seriousness. It was like she already predicted the answer.

Hiccup gave a slight laugh to mask the nerves, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My father and I have some business to take care of here" he said, "but we will come back...I promise."

It seemed only Astrid was catching on to what was happening, Snotlout continued to look pissed, while the twins stood there looking at each other as if they wondered if the other even knew what was going on. Fishlegs looked between all in the group, and slowly piped up.

"We...we're really no good here are we?...If we...stay we will...be in the way or leverage right?" he took a breath to try to calm himself, "I say...we do this..."

"I dunknow what's going on, but if it means getting the heck out of here, I'm all for it" Tuffnut smiled.

Ruffnut elbowed her brother, "this is serious you dolt...right?" She looked to Astrid.

Astrid sighed, rolling her eyes a bit, before blowing her bangs out-of-the-way. "Fine...we'll go...but if you're not back in a few days, we are coming to get you" she was serious to.

Snotlout glared a bit, "tch" he turned away from them.

Hiccup shook his head, that could have gone better, but they had gotten the jist of it. The Outcast vikings who had been watching walk over, one grabbing ahold of Hiccup. His friends tensed, though they kept still for now. Hiccup looked at them each for a few seconds, taking a breath.

"Wait here, the vikings will be released" he says.

They nodded, and Hiccup was pulled away back towards the place where Alvin had set up his camp. One by one, he watched the vikings be released, directed towards the beach. He caught a glimpse of Snoutlout's father before he went, the other looking just as mad as his son. Hiccup sighed, hoping things would get a bit easier once the vikings were safe.

"What's the matter boy?" Alvin laughed, coming up to his side, "not 'appy with yer choice?"

"I am happy that they wont be your tools anymore" Hiccup said defiantly, shooting a slight glare in the outcast leader's direction.

He laughed once more, before pointing out in the distance to the ship, "ya can watch them sail from here, but as soon as they break the horizon, we're getting started."

Hiccup watched Alvin turn away and leave him in the company of his guards. With a sigh, he returned to looking at the water. He stayed there until he noticed five objects lift into the air, and one take out to sea. The others were going, the ship as well. He smiled, good, they were safe. He was glad to see that, but something kept nagging at his mind.

"Five dragons...one ship" he crosses his arms, "where's Thornado and Toothless..."

He doubted Alvin would give him an honest answer if he asked him, so for now it would be a mystery and a piece of the puzzle Hiccup would have to treat delicately. He watched the ship and the dragons head for the horizon, becoming smaller and smaller against the sky. Taking a breath, he watched as the last remnants of them vanished beyond the horizon, taking a moment to try to compose himself. The moment didn't last long however, as a large hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and turned him. It was the black-haired viking.

"Time's up boy" he growled, pulling Hiccup away from the edge.

"Such nice company" Hiccup said sarcastically as he was pulled along.

The other said nothing though, as he took him to a large set of black mountains. Pulling him around the side, he noticed it made an arena like circle shape. Alvin and his men stood up on higher parts of the rock. Smiling down at him, Alvin spoke to a viking on his right. This was going to be a long day.

"Ya better be ready Dragon Conqueror, because we're about to get started" Alvin called out, before his laughter filled the ring.


	13. The First Trial

The sun filtered through the clouds above, the sounds of the outcasts laughs and jeers echoed through the canyon ring. Hiccup glanced around above him for a moment, before a roar echoed from where he had just been pushed in. Turning, he took a few steps back from where he had been standing. A list of potential dragons began to run through his head, what could Alvin get his hands on out here? Part of Hiccup did not want to find out. He took a deep breath, he refused to give up, especially to Alvin. The gates opened once more, a large shadow fell over the ground. Alvin laughed from above, looking down on the viking boy.

After a few moments, a large green dragon moved into the arena. Scauldron, it did not look happy at all. The large pouch under its head was weighed down heavily with water. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting. Hiccup had only really had experience with Scauldrons through the problem with the dragon flowers a while back, besides the past run in with Alvin as well. They were dangerous, able to hold in a lot of water, heating it to levels that would do a lot of damage. It swung its massive head, roaring at the onlookers from above. Its massive legs shaking the ground a bit as it moved farther into the ring.

It did not have much of a choice, two outcasts standing behind it were poking and prodding it with spears. Turning its head, it snapped out at the two, causing one to jump back. Swinging its tail, it slammed the other up against the wall. Hiccup's mind began to run through the known information. The gates closed, causing the Scauldron to roar once more, before turning its eyes on the viking within the ring with it.

"Oh boy"

Hiccup moved to the side, as the dragon tilted its head back for a moment, before letting loose a stream of steaming boiling water where he had been standing moments before. Hiccup rolled behind a large boulder, ducking with his arms over his head, as the dragon turned the stream on him once more. The water spewed around the bolder, missing him at times by a few inches. Growling, it paused for a moment, slowly moving towards the now soaked and steaming bolder. Hiccup glanced up as the shadow fell over him, before a large clawed foot wrapped itself onto the top of the rock. The vikings above laughing and watching, they were enjoying this a bit too much. Hiccup moved out from behind the bolder as the dragon leaned down and snapped its massive jaws at him.

Ok, think..he needed to think. Scauldrons were dangerous, but could only hold so much water right? Just like dragons who had limited shots, eventually the Scauldron would empty the massive pouch under its head. Even now after that attack, the large sack was smaller. Now the hard part would be avoiding it long enough for the dragon to empty its supply.

"Whats the matter eh? Cant 'andle it?" Alvin called with a laugh.

"Why don't you come down here then if it's so easy?" Hiccup countered, gaining a scowl from the viking above.

The Scauldron did not seem to enjoy the banter, swinging its massive tail in Hiccup's direction. The viking teen ducked, allowing the tail to soar over him a few inches from his head. The dragon seemed more hostile than normal. Then again, being captured and forced to fight for the amusement for vikings like Alvin would make anyone mad, it was sure beginning to have that effect on Hiccup. The dragon let loose another stream of water and for once Hiccup was glad to be small and lighter. He moved out-of-the-way once more, using the dragon's size against it. Sliding under its front legs and out the other side, the dragon almost lost its balance as its massive head attempted to follow, while it tried to turn at the same time. It roared, even angrier now that the viking kept getting away.

Something caught Hiccup's eye. The look of the dragon's body. Usually Scauldrons, much like Sharkworms had to keep their bodies moist. They did not stray to far from water for this reason. This one however looked dried out, its skin beginning to crack and peel away at some parts. The dragon was dehydrated, most likely on purpose. Alvin would never make this easy for Hiccup and using the dragons for his own gain did not phase him one bit. Even if it ment harming or killing them in the process. The dragon's breathing was labored, the lack of water and its hostile actions were taking a toll on an already exhausted form. Hiccup needed to think of something and fast, as the large dragon moved closer. Looking around, he stepped back away as the dragon growled and advanced.

His eyes caught sight of the overhang of the ring above. It had a sort of curve to it, giving the whole arena more of a bowl like look. That was perfect, now to think of a way to get the plan that was forming into his head into action. He took a breath, looking up at the large dragon, waving his arms a bit.

"Hey, is that the best you got? Give me your best shot" he yelled.

The dragon roared, pulling its head back once more.

"Oh boy" Hiccup looked around his feet quickly, really wishing he had thought this through a bit better.

The dragon lurched forward, letting loose a large and powerful blast of steaming water. Hiccup dove to the side, covering his head a bit as mist from the attack began to form around him making it harder to breathe. His hand landed on a large rock, wich turning to the side, he threw at the Scauldron's head. It hit the dragon's jaw, forcing the head to turn upwards as the dragon gave a slight roar of pain. The water hit the rock wall above, carving a slight hole in it from the pressure and the heat. Bouncing off, it began to fall like rain back onto the arena below, cooling down a bit as it fell onto the dragon below. Hiccup managed to roll out-of-the-way a bit, avoiding most of the hot water as it fell down. Although the dragon did not seem to happy about the heat, the rush of water was met with a slightly more pleasant sound as the last of the water was released from its pouch.

It shook its head, lowering it as the water darkened the floor of the arena, as well as covered a large portion of the dragon now. Hiccup slowly stood, holding up his hands as he took a few steps towards the dragon now. It turned to look at him, narrowing its eyes and growling at him. Scauldrons were dangerous on many levels, but that did not mean Hiccup was going to back down now.

"Easy boy...I'm not going to hurt you" he slowly began moving in an arch, moving around towards the dragon's side.

It watched his every move, lowering its head, allowing its long neck to stretch so it moved where he did. He reached close enough to the side, to reach out lightly with a hand, while keeping his eyes on the dragon. The vikings above leaned forward a bit, watching him. He lightly placed a hand on the heated and lightly steaming side of the dragon. It roared for a moment, snapping out at him. He stepped back, holding up his hands once more.

"Easy...it's alright.." he stayed where he was for a moment, before moving to replace his hand on its side.

The dragon growled, but made no move, watching him with a look that still harbored a lot of aggression. He moved his hand over its side, lightly working a bit of the water into the dragon's damaged skin. Slowly it began to give a sound that was similar to a purr, its sides vibrating with the noise. It seemed to like the feeling, its eyes slowly half closing. Hiccup smiled, the dragon was not so bad after all. Moving its massive head forward, it nudged into his chest. He lightly patted the top of its head. Alvin scowled, slamming a hand down on the railing where he stood. The dragon lifted its head, growling up at him as Hiccup turned to look.

"Not happy?" Hiccup asked, crossing his arms. "Isn't this what you wanted, or were you hoping I'd get eaten?" he smiled a bit.

Alvin's look darkened at the young viking's sarcastic quip towards him.

"Don't get smart with me boy, or daddy will pay the price" he smiled darkly.

Out of the crowd of outcasts, Stoick was pushed forward, shouldering off a guard as he looked down into the ring below.

"Son" he called.

"Dad" Hiccup glared at Alvin, "Leave him alone."

"Oh I will" Alvin said, pretending to be cleaning one of his nails, "as long as you live up to your end boy."

The Scauldron roared, attempting to spit out more water, but barely got out a few little spurts. Alvin laughed, causing the dragon to growl. It was still to dehydrated, though definitely holding a grudge. The gates opened, the guards returning to drive out the large dragon. Hiccup wanted to stop them, but a guard grabbed his arm, holding him back for the moment. The dragon gave him a lightly saddened look, before snapping at the men who drove it back.

"Aw don't worry" Alvin called, "plenty more were that came from."

His men laughed, gaining a glare from the viking teen.

"I sware, if he gets hurt..." Stoick challenged through clenched teeth.

"You'll what?" Alvin moved closer to the Berk leader, smiling a toothy grin.

"It will be the last mistake you ever make" the sound in Stoick's voice as he looked into the Outcast leader's eyes was deadly serious.

Alvin gave a wave of his hand, the guards forcing Stoick back a bit, "it should be that boy of yours your thinkin about, not me eh?"

He laughed, moving back to the edge of the ring as the guard let go of Hiccup's arm.

"Ready for round two?" Alvin called.

"Do I have a choice?" Hiccup asked more sarcastically than serious.

Alvin laughed, as the gates began to open up once again.


End file.
